


Taking my message from the veins

by The_last_moon_child



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper is a Good Friend, Drama & Romance, Hurt Jughead Jones, Jarchie - Freeform, Josie McCoy is a badass, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, M/M, Protective Archie Andrews, Romance, Romantic Soulmates, Science Fiction, Soulmates, Supernatural Elements, glowing veins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 07:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13585665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_last_moon_child/pseuds/The_last_moon_child
Summary: soulmateˈsəʊlmeɪt/nouna person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.~ Jughead and Archie were as close as two friends could be before Betty had come into the picture, testing the boundaries of their friendship and changing the way they viewed each other.Then later, with Jughead's relationship with Betty on the rocks Jughead begins to doubt his happiness with the girl that was once his everything. To add to Jughead's confusion when he's around Archie he feels all the telltale signs of being in love. A racing heart- blush on his cheeks- but there's something else, something very unusual. The veins in his hands light up like lightning in a storm. He was aware of Archie's feelings for him but Jughead worried that if he told Archie about his glowing veins that he would leave his life forever.But that's not the only problem that these boys are about to face. A much larger one just rolled into town, and it could cost them their lives.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally posted on my joint wattpad account and was written alongside my best friend.

Teenage love is an unsure and testing experience, it's mostly about two lovestruck kids trying desperately to find love and fit in with the world around them. In Archie's eyes it wasn't quite like that, to him true love didn't exist, however, there was a time in his life when he thought otherwise, a time filled with happiness and laughter and late night cuddles. Precious moments he had spent with Jughead, his best friend, the boy he once called his own- sort of- despite all those tender touches and nights spent entangled under the sheets telling each other stories about pointless things they never actually confirmed that they were together. Something that left Archie feeling upset and betrayed. It had all been going well up until the moment Betty Cooper stepped into their lives, her bright blue eyes had immediately taken a liken to Jughead and it wasn't long before he too had the same thoughts. Then weeks after Betty's sudden arrival, Jughead had left Archie's side for the blonde beauty that was Betty. Archie had been heartbroken, for a while he couldn't even leave his room, everything he saw was like a constant reminder of Jughead. He just knew that if he had managed to actually get into school he would be forced to witness jughead, the boy who still had his heart, romancing with Betty- something his heart couldn't take seeing. Of course, eventually, he would have to go to school, there's only so long he can use the excuse that he's sick on his dad, soon he had no choice and was thrown back into the corridors of chattering teens and a romance that he couldn't bare to face. It seemed that Betty and Jughead were taunting him from behind every corner with their hushed voices and in-your-face touching. Archie couldn't bare it so he avoided them like the plague. 

Jughead sensed that Archie was avoiding him. It was obvious, because he picked up speed whenever he passed him in the corridors. It tore him apart, nobody wants to be ignored and it worse when it was Archie who was doing it to him. Jughead's usual method of dealing with his problems was simply to act like it didn't exist, but this one was proving difficult. Why? He didn't know yet. But whatever it may be it was interfering in his relationship with Betty.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jug? Jughead!" Betty called to him as if he was a million miles away, even though he was sitting right next to her. He snapped back to reality. "You were zoned out again, Jug. Are you alright." Asked the blonde haired girl.

"I'm fine..." He lied.

"No, you're not. You've got something on your mind, something that's distracting you from everything. Something is bothering you and your not telling me what it is!"

"There's nothing wrong with me, Betty! And even if there was, maybe I just don't feel ready to tell you or anyone else yet, did you ever think about that?!" He snapped. He hated arguing with her, he really did. But at this point it seemed to happen almost every single day. Something would always go wrong, and one would always blame the other. But then they'd always kiss and make up and pretend that nothing had happened. No matter how thankful Jughead was that everything always seemed to turn out alright, it felt wrong to him. He felt as though he was lying to himself.

Betty huffed to herself, moving closer to Jughead and changing her tone of voice to a soft comforting volume. "Is it about Archie?" She asked.

Jughead didn't reply, he just hung his head low as if he was ashamed of even thinking about Archie. It was mainly because he knew that Betty wouldn't take it well.

"I thought so..." She muttered. "Listen, Juggie... You're going to have to let it go. We all make friends, and we all stop speaking to some of them eventually. And besides, if he was a true friend he'd be happy for you and me. He wouldn't avoid you every time he saw us together, he'd actually come up and talk to you like you were an actual human being with feelings!" She paused for a moment to let Jughead think about what she'd told him. "Let him go, Jughead. Let him go."

Jughead nodded slowly. "Maybe you're right..."

"I'm always right." She smiled, pulling Jughead into a kiss, only this kiss didn't feel like a real kiss. It felt forced. "Promise me you'll forget about him?"

"I promise..."

"Are you going to stay over tonight?"

"Nah, not tonight," Jughead said, already starting to get up from his seat. "My dad wants me to be home, he said he wanted to talk or something."

"Do you know what he wants to talk about?"

"Not yet... But I guess I'll find out soon."

"Alright, be safe out there for me."

"I will." He gave Betty a hug and a kiss on the cheek goodbye and started to make his way to the door. "Bye, Betty."

"Bye, Romeo."

Jughead stepped out of the door, letting the cold winter air hit his face with an icy chill. He started to walk down the dark and twisty road that lead him to what he was forced to call home. Although to him it was the least home-like place in the whole of Riverdale.

He had lied twice that night. Firstly about needing to be home for tonight, his dad didn't actually want to talk about anything, when did that ever happen? He had just needed to get out of that conversation with Betty. And secondly, about his promise to forget about Archie. He wasn't going to be forgetting about that red-haired boy that easily. Besides, he was on Jughead's mind for more than one reason, in fact, he was on his mind for so many reasons that Jughead could fill a whole list of them. The main reason though was the way he felt about Archie. Of course, he had always liked him as a friend, but recently Jughead had been considering whether or not he liked him as something more than a friend. Although at this point it wasn't even a question anymore, he definitely liked Archie as something more. It was obvious, at least to him anyway. Lucky for Jughead, hiding his feelings was his speciality, or at least from most people. Betty seemed to see right through him, but thankfully she only seemed to get half of the story.

Finally, he reached the dimly lit trailer. Knowing that his dad would most likely not be home he didn't bother to knock, and instead just walked through the unlocked door and made his way to his room. He sat down on his bed, giving himself a moment to calm down. Thinking about Archie and Betty had left him feeling angry and confused, causing him to have to have a banging headache.

Once he had cleared his head completely, he was free to think about whatever he wanted. So he chose to think about Archie. Not in the usual way, in a way that meant that Archie was the only thing that filled his mind, nothing else would be distracting him. Of course, his body started acting the way it normally did. His heart started beating faster, his cheeks started to develop a warm blush, and then he felt it. The electrical pulses that ran from his heart through the rest of his body. He looked down at his hands to see that his veins were glowing, only in his hands though the rest of his body didn't react this way, although he had no idea why. But what he knew for certain was that this always happened every single time he cleared his mind of everything but Archie Andrews.

This had been happening for a few months now, so he had grown used to it. He knew that he had to tell someone eventually, probably Archie since it was his doing anyway, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. What would he think about him after seeing his hands light up like a weird christmas tree? He'd probably think he was a freak of nature, which would make Archie avoid him even more than before. He may never see him again. In fact, he may wouldn't be able to see anyone ever again, they'd probably take him away and lock him up in some top secret facility where they kept all the other freaks and weirdos.

Jughead wanted so badly to find an answer, but his questioning was cut short due to an annoying buzzing noise that came from his phone. He looked back down at his hands one more time before he bothered to check his phone, and just as he expected the notification had distracted him too much, which caused the glowing to cease much to his disappointment. He rolled his eyes in frustration and turned on the phone screen.

There was a new text. It read: Can we talk? In person?

The text was from Archie.


	3. Chapter 3

Archie swept his sweaty palms up and down his jean-clad thighs repeatedly, then, picked up his phone over more for the tenth or so time since messaging Jughead. He sighed when no new notifications lit up his screen. Soon he began pacing the length of his bedroom, glancing out the window, running a hand through his hair and then watching his phone for messages once more, but still a blank illuminated screen met his vision; mocking him almost. Another frustrated sigh escaped his lips, he felt like a deflating balloon with the amount of times he'd sighed in the last hour. It took him hours of thinking to actually send the message and then Jughead doesn't even have the decency to reply, Archie was annoyed, but also hurt. He thought that maybe Jughead would miss him as much as Archie missed him but apparently not, he wasn't even willing to try and Archie couldn't help but feel disappointed. God, did he want everything to go back to normal, back to how things were before; Archie longs to go back in time to the nights he spent cuddling jughead and whispering in his ear about how adorable he is. 

Then, almost a silver lining to the grey clouds above Archie's head, his phone buzzed. He jumped, not expecting the sudden noise, halting his pacing to check his phone. 

Jughead: meet at your house? 

With eager movements Archie sent a reply, and went to sit on his bed, twisting his fingers together into some nervous dance. His legs bounced as he sat quietly and waited, thoughts running away with him. He realised now that he probably should have planned what he was actually going to say to Jughead, there was just so many things to mention, nothing could be left un-talked about. However, a while later when Jughead was stood in his doorway all his thoughts completely escaped his mind, words were not coming to his lips. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have Jughead close again and stood up, carefully approaching Jughead, who was standing and staring intently at Archie. 

"Jughead.." Archie whispered, eyes still linked with Jugheads, their stare scrutinizing and speaking a thousand unsaid words. When he couldn't take it anymore, Archie reached out in a spontaneous moment and wrapped his arms around Jughead, who sighed and sank into the touch. For a few brief moments, the pair stood there holding each other, eyes close ed and embracing the tender moment. Archie had longed to have Jughead this close for months, and it left his skin tingling and heart racing. But all good things come to an end and Archie had to pull away, remembering his annoyance towards Jughead. He was supposed to be his best friend and yet recently he's been as distant as the stars in the sky and he had left Archie's side without decent reason as to why. 

"I brought you here to talk, Jug," Archie muttered, the room had gone silent and he was almost too hesitant to break it. Jughead glanced down at his shoes, avoiding Archie's waiting eye, then, when he did finally cast his gaze back upwards it was linked onto the wall behind Archie's head and not his eyes. Archie sighed, taking a step back, putting distance between him and his friend. Jughead was obviously waiting for Archie to begin talking, his mouth was pursed shut as he stood there awkwardly, saying nothing and making no attempt to speak. 

"You know exactly what I want to talk about.." Archie added and Jughead bit his lip, rubbing his hands over his face. 

"Archie...I.." Was all he managed and Archie's shoulders slumped. 

"Someday we are going to have to talk about it, jug... What we had before Betty- I can't stop thinking about you."

Suddenly Jugheads stare linked either Archie's and for a paused moment all the two did was observe each other, and Archie could see the emotion stirring around in Jughead's eyes, he also noted how tired and pale he looked and his heart ached at the sight of him so downtrodden. All this secret keeping and lying was taking its toll on Jughead, his posture was slouched and there was no bright wide smile on his lips, the smirk that Archie adored. 

"I'm with Betty now, I- I love her." Jughead replied and Archie couldn't tell if he was trying harder to convince him or himself. "Please stop bringing up what we had... I cant think about it." 

"Why?" Archie pressed, furrowing his brows at Jughead. "Because you're trying to run away from it? You're living a lie jughead... You don't love Betty."

"Stop." Jughead shook his head and there was power behind his voice, he no longer sounded mumbled or nervous. The jughead Archie knew and loved was slipping back through the cracks, the opinionated and argumentative Jughead. 

"How are things at home Jug? You look exhausted." Archie decided the change the topic of conversation simply because Jughead was giving him these sad puppy dog eyes and of course Archie caved and moved on. Although the talk of what they had was far from over, it would just have to happen at some other time, perhaps when Jughead wasn't so tired looking and snappy. 

"Oh great -you know - I'm sure my dad loves his alcohol more than me but its great. Amazing. Really." He gave a tight slipped smile and Archie could almost sense his inner heartbreak, something that settled uneasily in his stomach. 

"If you need a place to crash for a while, Juggie, I'm always here." As Archie said this hope flashed in Jugheads eyes and he stood taller, almost as if he'd been thrown a lifeline or he'd been rescued from drowning in the ocean. 

"You'd be willing to take me in even after everything?" Jughead raised his eyes brows, the hint of an affectionate smile on his lips. 

"Course." Archie grinned, resting a hand on Jugheads shoulder, ignoring the tingles in his arm and the sudden jolt of his heart rate. "What are friends for?" 

"Thank you so much, arch, you're the best." 

 

#

Later that night, as the sky had darkened and the stars had made an appearance, Jughead was lying on an inflatable mattress that ruffled under his movements, making a horrible noise. An arm was under his head and he felt like he was evaluating his whole life in the dark of the night whilst Archie slept on his own bed next to him. He could hear the window outside and the distant bark of a dog, the world had officially switched off for the night- people were too busy sleeping- like Jughead should be, but, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get his eyes to stay shut. 

He shifted his position, rolling onto his side, so he was facing Archie as he slept peacefully. It was then that he noticed something. He shot up in bed, rubbing his eyes in disbelief, then a frown graced his features as he struggled to comprehend the moment and what he was seeing. 

There racing up and down the length of Archie's arms were bright, light coloured sparks like lighting in the dark sky. He remained staring for a while, beyond confused before, he suddenly laid back down and twisted away from Archie, forcing his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and attempted to regain his normal breathing rate. 

Archie had those sparks on his arms like Jughead had on his hands. 

What could this possibly mean? 

Now, Jughead's life was even more confusing and messed up.


	4. Chapter 4

It was inevitable that Jughead wasn't going to get any sleep that night with all the thoughts that were clouding his mind. His history with Archie, his current relationship with Betty, the fact that both he and Archie's veins had started to glow, whether or not Archie's veins lit up for the same reason that Jughead's did, whether or not Archie even knew about all of this, it was all too much to think about. After what seemed like an endless night, the boys were finally greeted by the rays of sunlight that poured through Archie's bedroom window. Jughead rubbed his tired eyes, looking back at Archie who was still peacefully asleep, the veins in his arm still as bright as ever, glistening as the sun hit them. Jughead couldn't help but stare once more, just because he had seen the same sight last night it didn't make it any less incredible and confusing. One thing was clear however: Jughead needed to clear his head, otherwise he wouldn't be able to focus on the day that lay ahead of him.

So without thinking twice, he forced himself to get up out of bed and take a cold shower since they usually helped to calm him down. It was as if all his troubles were just temporarily washed away as he let the water run down his body, sending them away down the drain. Showers were also one of the best places to just think, think about your problems and how to overcome them. Unfortunately for Jughead, his mind was blank and he couldn't think of a single answer for any of the questions that lay in front of him. Fuelled with disappointment, Jughead stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He looked at himself in the mirror, seeing nothing but an emotionally confused mess staring back at him. He ducked his head down as if he was trying to avoid eye contact with himself, and when he finally looked back up he wasn't expecting to see Archie's face had joined his own in the mirror. Jughead spun around to properly face Archie, as both boys chuckled at their once shocked expressions.

"Jeez, don't do that Archie!" Jughead said, still slightly chuckling.

"Sorry." Archie smiled. "I didn't realise you were in here. I can leave if you want."

Jughead was about to just nod in response to Archie's question, but then he remembered the sight that he had witnessed a few moments ago that involved Archie's arms. He had to talk to him about it now, otherwise he may never understand. "Wait, Archie. I need to ask you something important."

Archie smirked slightly. "Well, you should probably get some clothes on first." He pointed out as he turned to leave, causing Jughead's face to turn bright red.

"Archie!" Jughead said once again, this time grabbing hold of the red-haired boy's hands to make him look at him. There was a brief moment of silence. "How long have the veins in your arm been glowing?"

The smile on Archie's face immediately dropped, his body becoming noticeably stiffer. He gently pulled himself away from Jughead's grasp. "How did you know?" He asked, his eyes filled with fear.

"Last night, they lit up in your sleep... I saw them." Jughead explained, looking directly into Archie's deep brown eyes. He immediately sensed that Archie was about to try and leave again, so Jughead instinctively pulled him closer. "Archie... Don't leave. Just watch." He gestured down to his hands which were entangled in Archie's.

Archie obeyed, looking down at Jughead's hands, and he could've sworn that his heart stopped for a moment. Jughead's hands were lighting up in the exact same way that Archie's arms had been doing for the past few months. At first he didn't believe it, he had to pull his hands closer to his face so that he could take a closer look. After a few moments of studying the bright white lights that ran down Jughead's hands, Archie concluded that they were indeed real and he wasn't going crazy.

"You too?" Archie asked nervously, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Jughead nodded. "Yeah..."

"Do you know anything about-"

"No, I don't know anything about how this all started."

"Oh..." Archie took a deep breath before beginning to explain his side of the story. "I was dreaming about you last night..." That line caught Jughead's attention. "They usually start to glow when I think about you, Juggie. Only you."

"Me too..." Jughead hadn't meant to say that out loud, even though it was true. He found it hard enough to admit it to himself, let alone to anyone else. "Mine light up whenever I clear my mind of everything but you, Archie."

Much to both of their disappointment, the uncomfortable silence had returned to the room. Archie leaned in closer. "We'll talk about this later..." He whispered, sending a shiver down Jughead's spine. "Meet me at my table at lunch. But for now, get some clothes on and get your ass ready for school, you're gonna make us late."

*

The first half of the school day seemed to last forever, filled with lessons that neither of the boys were paying attention to since they were far too focused on the clock. They needed their lunch break to come more than ever, now that they both knew about each other's glowing veins, they both wanted to start searching for answers. Finally, the bell rang, and everyone got up out of their seats. Archie made a beeline for his table, eagerly waiting for Jughead to come and join him. He waited two minutes, five, ten, fifteen, to the point where he was starting to give up hope. Until finally he was greeted by the comfortable warmth of the raven-haired boy sitting down next to him.

"And where have you been?" Archie asked semi-jokingly.

"I ran into Betty..." Jughead explained. "She said that she wanted to speak to me after school at her place. Oh yeah, and I forgot my phone at your house, so I told her that I needed to stop over at my house to get it before I go over to her."

"Firstly, why your house? And secondly, what kind of teenager forgets their phone?"

"Well, after everything that happened last night and this morning, it's not too shocking that my phone wasn't the first thing on my mind!"

"Fair point." Archie shrugged.

"Also, I told Betty it was my place because I lied to her last night," Jughead admitted guiltily. "I told her last night that I had to go back home because my dad wanted to talk to me about something, but you and I both know that he never wants to talk. Don't you dare say anything, this is another conversation for another day."

Archie knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything else out of Jughead on that topic, so he moved on to the conversation that they were both there to have in the first place. "So, any other thoughts about this whole situation, besides the fact that we're both extremely terrified and have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on?"

"Nope," Jughead replied simply. It was pretty much exactly as Archie had described it, they were both terrified, confused, and were desperate to find answers before anyone else found out about them.

"Okay, so let's just get this much straight..." Archie started. If they were going to get any further than they were right now, they were going to have to fully evaluate their starting point and what dangers could lie ahead. "So, your hands glow, my arms glow, it only ever happens when we think about nothing else but each other, and how long has it been going on for...?"

"To be completely honest, ever since I got together with Betty..." Jughead glanced down at the floor when he mentioned her name. "Which was a few months ago."

"Right, did I miss anything?" Archie asked, also steering away from adding Betty into this conversation.

"I don't think so... But what I don't get is why I can't find anything on it."

"You looked it up? When?"

"Yeah, when it first started happening. I got freaked out and obviously I didn't want to tell anyone, so I turned to Google."

"And you couldn't find a single thing?"

"Nope. Well, I found some Tumblr posts and some cool pieces of artwork, but I doubt that they'll come in any use."

"Damn it..." Archie sighed, feeling utterly defeated.

They were stuck at stage one, with no leads to help them get to stage two. They sat there for a few moments in silence, trying to think of something, anything, that could help them. But they weren't expecting to be joined by one of the new students. It was a girl with long black hair and deep brown eyes, clearly from the rich part of town judging by the expensive clothes she was wearing. Even though she had one of the sweetest smiles either of the boys had ever seen, there was something about her that felt dangerous, as if there was something more to her than meets the eye.

"Sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help being drawn into your conversation." She apologised sweetly.

Jughead looked over to Archie, gesturing for him to do the talking that he needed to do to get them out of this. At this point they were both frantic, worrying that she had heard their entire discussion, and if she did what was she thinking right now? Was she going to rat them out to the government? Did she know more about this than they did? Or were they just overreacting, and she hadn't actually heard anything important?

"Just curious, how much of our conversation did you actually hear?" Archie asked, trying his best to stay calm and collected.

"Enough to be intrigued." She answered. Jughead eyed her in a way that seemed to say that he didn't believe her. She caught on to his suspicions and had no other choice but to cave in. "Alright, I'll tell the truth. I'm new here, and I just want to make friends... And you guys just seemed really nice."

"But why us?" Jughead chipped in, clearly still not believing her. "Why not someone like Cheryl Blossom and her army."

"Well, firstly because her table is completely full." She said, pointing over at a table filled with popular girls. For a moment she made eye contact with their leader, but it didn't last long. "And secondly, because I don't want to be one of those girls this year. This year, I want to try and avoid anything to do with them."

"That still doesn't give a decent reason why you choose to sit with us." Jughead pointed out, immediately being met with Archie's elbow in his side.

"Fine." She said, officially giving up and getting up to leave. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"Hey, wait!" Archie called after her, Jughead just rolled his eyes at him.

She didn't listen and continued to walk away. So Archie got up out of his seat and grabbed hold of her hand. Even if she did know too much, no one deserved to be alone. But as soon as their hands connected her smile faded away from her face, leaving a torn and serious expression in its place.

"Let go of me..." She said quietly, almost whispering.

"Huh?"

"I said let go of me." She yanked herself free of Archie's grasp. "Listen, you need to stay away from me. Both of you. I'm a danger to you guys, I could get you seriously hurt. So just... Don't ask any questions, just let me walk away, and don't try to talk to me ever again. Got it?" And at that she left, leaving Archie more confused than he was before.

He slowly walked back to his seat, sitting back down next to Jughead. "She definitely knows something..." He concluded.

"You're telling me! Dude, we need to find her!" But before they even had a chance to think about where she could be, the bell rang and everyone went back to class.

Whoever this girl was, if she didn't know anything before, she certainly did now. And Archie and Jughead had a strong feeling that she knew more than both of them combined. If they were going to find any sort of answer, they needed to talk to her again. She was their key.


	5. Chapter 5

Veronica was the new girl in town. She's recently moved to Riverdale with her family, they wanted to escape their hectic lives back where they used it live. But Veronica worries that their decision to leave their old home hasn't benefited them as much as they had hoped. They wanted to go to Riverdale for a quiet life, but, now Veronica has realised something. It was her first day at school yesterday, it hadn't been all that interesting, apart from one moment. When she happened to overhear two boys talking, one with red hair and the other with dark black, they were discussing something that had happened to them. Electric veins- they had said- and that had caught her attention instantly. From the town before Veronica knew about how her parents treated people that were, what they called, different. Her dad would lock both the boys with electric veins up, testing on them in some laboratory as if they were an experiment. Because she didn't want them being treated like that Veronica kept the boys secret hidden, away from her parents and their prying eyes. She didn't trust her parents enough to tell them such a thing. Veronica had a strained relationship with her mom and dad- she often went against them- because Veronica didn't follow the rules, she makes them. 

##

Later that evening, back at Archie's house, when the evening had settled. Both Archie and Jughead had spent hours scratching their heads over what was going on with their little situation, the whole electric veins thing was all they could talk about. Googling had led them nowhere, if anything it left them even more stumped for answers. After they had spent hours puzzling over their veins, Archie had decided they needed a few drinks to wash all the, or lack of, information down. So, he headed down the stairs, leaving Jughead in his bedroom. But that soon changed, Jughead stood up from the bed when Archie was taking a while fetching the drinks, and Jughead thought that maybe he needed a helping hand. Heading down the steps Jughead halted his movements, stopping on the steps when he heard both Archie's voice and then also his dads. He decided to sit down, perching on the wooden step - he may have been eavesdropping on their conversation. 

"How's Jughead doing?" Fred asked Archie, who must have shrugged because soon Fred was speaking once more. "You still like him? Y'know more than a friend?"

"It's like he's my soulmate, dad," Archie sighed, slumping against the side with a defeated expression on his face. "But while he's with Betty I can't do a thing about it." 

Jughead brought his hands to his mouth, his vision swimming with the unshed tears, just thinking about Archie and them being together- as something more than friends- made his heart race. But also his hands glow, under the dim lights it's all Jughead could see- his bright glowing palms. 

Jughead had a decision to make. A decision that could change the course of his life. 

## 

"Betty we need to talk," Jughead sighed once he was stood in front of Betty in her bedroom. He doesn't know how many times he'd sighed in the past few days. Betty's face dropped, almost as if she knew what was coming next. They sat down on her bed and Jughead took her hands in his.   
"I don't think we're working anymore, I was really happy with you." He began and Betty sighed. 

"Was?" She inquired and tugged her hands from Jughead's grip. 

"I'm sorry- I just- I'm not sure we're as happy as we used to be." 

"I'm happy, jug, it's you that's not." 

"I know." Jughead whispered, running a hand through his hair. "I've not been happy for a while, my head- it's all over the place." 

"I'm always here if you need to talk, Juggie, whether we're together or not." 

Jughead smiled softly at Betty, glad that she wasn't taking this break up too badly. 

## 

Later, Jughead returned back to Archie's house with a heavy heart and a whirring head. He sank down onto the inflatable mattress on Archie's floor and sighed once again. 

"Jug?" Archie whispered into the dark of the night. And Jughead nodded, although Archie couldn't see him, so he found himself muttering a small "yes". 

"Are you okay? Where have you been?" 

"I'll tell you in the morning." Jughead replied, hearing Archie shift in his bed. "Night, Arch." 

"Goodnight Juggie."


	6. Chapter 6

As the sun rose once again to greet the small town of Riverdale, Archie hoped that this day would hold more answers to the mystery that was his and Jughead's lives. He rolled over to look at the raven-haired-haired boy sleeping on the mattress next to him, still fully clothed from the night before. Archie's memories from that night were still slightly cloudy since he was only half awake when Jughead returned from his little rendezvous with Betty, but from what he did remember it seemed to have not gone so well. He remembered Jughead coming into his room in the dead of night, he didn't see his face due to the darkness, but from the few words he spoke Archie could sense that he felt hurt. He had no idea what could have happened to make Jughead feel that way, but Archie was going to make it his mission to help him forget about it.

He removed himself from the covers of his own bed and sat down next to Jughead, shaking him gently to wake him up. Archie's soft attempt surprisingly worked and Jughead woke up within a few moments. "Good morning, sunshine." Archie whispered.

Jughead groaned and rubbed his sleep-deprived eyes. "What time is it?" He murmured.

"Half past, we're 10 minutes late." Archie answered, and immediately regretted doing so straight after. It was clear that Jughead wasn't in the right mood or state to go to school, and if Archie was being completely honest with himself, neither was he. Seeing Jughead like this just made Archie want to whisk them both away to a place where all their troubles and the rest of the world didn't exist, a place where they could both be happy with nothing and no one to bother them. That's when Archie had an idea. "Skip school with me?"

Jughead looked up at him with a confused look on his face. Skip school? Archie never skipped school. He had always been the good student who always turned up on time, who always handed in homework on the day it was due, in fact Jughead had never seen him miss a deadline in his life. "Skip school? You?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well if it means that we have a better chance to talk, then sure." Archie replied. Jughead looked deep into his eyes to try and find any signs of doubt, but there were none. He was being completely serious. "So, are you in or out?"

"Of course I'm in!" Jughead said, a sleepy smile forming on his face.

*

Even though Archie never skipped school, he had to admit that he was enjoying this. Being away from all those distractions in their lives, it almost therapeutic. The two boys had walked from Archie's house to the outskirts of town, where they knew nobody would go looking for them, and had decided to take a break on a bench. There was a brief awkward moment where neither of them knew whether to speak first, considering it was obvious from the start that the main reason they were out here in the first place was to talk.

"Just ask the question, Archie." Jughead spoke, finally breaking the silence.

Archie took a deep breath. "What happened last night?"

Jughead saw it coming long before Archie even asked that question, but it still felt hard for him to answer. "I... I ended things with Betty."

Archie was in shock. He had been telling Jughead to break up with Betty ever since they became a couple, but he never thought he would actually do it. "You broke up with her?" He asked, trying to fully understand what he had just heard.

"Pretty much."

"Dude, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. Besides, I'm not." Jughead let a small chuckle escape his lips. Now that he had told Archie what had happened, he felt so much better. "I was over Betty long before I called the whole thing off."

Archie was beyond happy that Jughead and Betty's relationship was finally over, and more importantly that Jughead didn't seem even the slightest bit torn up by the whole ordeal. "How did she take it?"

"Surprisingly well, she said that we were still friends." The smile that Archie had been writing for finally graced Jughead's face. "I have to admit, you were right, Arch. I just felt bad doing it to her...She's a nice girl, you know. She doesn't deserve pain."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Archie said, wrapping his arm around Jughead's shoulders. "There's plenty more fish in the sea for her."

"I suppose it was for best... Technically I was already taken when I started dating her anyway."

"Wait, what?"

"What?"

Before Archie could find out what Jughead truly meant, they heard footsteps coming towards them and then stopping abruptly. They snapped to attention and spun around to face whoever it was who had stumbled upon them. To their surprise, it was the girl who had tried to befriend them (and also defriend them) from yesterday. She stood there for a moment, immediately realising who she had ran into, before making a swift 180° turn and speed walking in the other direction. The boys sprung to their feet and ran towards her, they knew that she was avoiding them for a reason that they needed to understand, and if she wasn't going to tell them what it was then they'd just have to force it out of her.

"Hey, wait! We need to talk to you!" Archie called after her, but once again she ignored him and continued to walk away.

"We know you know something that we don't!" Jughead yelled.

This caught her attention. She spun around on her heels and walked back towards the boys. "Keep it down!" She hissed.

"Not unless you tell us everything you know!" Jughead continued, not bothering to lower his voice like she told him to. "So what's really going on here, huh? What part do you play in all of this? Do your veins glow too or what?"

"Shhhhhhhhhh!" She put her finger on her lips violently, finally causing Jughead to shut up. She sighed, cautiously checking over her shoulder before continuing. "No, my veins don't glow like yours do. And yes, I do know why it's happening to you guys, kind of. I probably know more about you guys than you know about yourselves."

"Are you a stalker?" Jughead asked sarcastically, once again being met with Archie elbowing his side.

"I know it sounds weird..." She admitted. "But it actually makes a lot more sense than you think it does."

"You have to tell us." Archie stepped forward.

She looked over her shoulder again and then back to Archie. "I want to, trust me I do. But not in public."

"Tonight, at pop's diner?" Archie suggested.

"That's still in public!"

"At night it's different." Jughead chipped in. "Trust me, I know. There's almost no one there, besides a few people who go there to shut themselves away from the world, hence don't want to listen to other people's conversations."

She huffed in defeat. "10:30. Be there." She said before storming off.

"Hey, we didn't catch your name!" Archie called out.

She turned around once more, a smile spread across her face. "Veronica Lodge." She replied.

"I'm Archie Andrews." Archie said, extending his hand for her to shake, which she gladly took.

"And I'm Jughead Jones the third." Jughead didn't offer his hand like Archie, but Veronica still shook it as a form of friendship.

"Don't be afraid of me." She smiled. "In fact, let's be best friends." And at that she left for good, leaving the two boys speechless.

*

Archie and Jughead arrived at pop's earlier, just in case Veronica was one of those people who are never late. Luckily they arrived before her, and they had a few moments to themselves. Just like they'd expected, the diner was pretty much deserted.

"Jug?" Archie looked over at the raven-haired boy who was sitting next to him in the neon-lit booth.

"Yeah?"

"Earlier today, you said that you were already taken when you started dating Betty. What did you mean by that?"

"What did you think I meant?" Jughead asked, taking a sip from his milkshake. "I mean, I've only ever been romantically tied to one other person besides Betty..."

Archie froze, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. All the memories of him and Jughead together laughing, smiling, cuddling, started running through his mind like a tidal wave. "That person... Was it me?"

Jughead bit his lip and smiled, looking down at the floor to avoid embarrassment. Now he could also feel his heartbeat, his veins were threatening to light up. "Yes, Archie..." He murmured, a single tear rolled down his cheek. "It's you."

Archie moved closer and took Jughead's hand in his own. The veins in his arm were also threatening to light up, because in this moment all he could see was the boy who he once called his everything, who he still called his everything. "Juggie..." He whispered. "Do you still love me?"

"I..." Jughead paused to look up at Archie, letting the rest of the tears roll down his cheeks. "I think so... Yes, I do. I do, Archie."

They sat there in silence, this time it wasn't an awkward silence instead it was a comfortable one. Archie wiped Jughead's tears away and pressed their foreheads together. "I love you too, Juggie..."

"Am I interrupting something?" Veronica smiled as she walked through the door. "Just so you know, I totally ship it!"

Jughead immediately flinched away from Archie, a red blush covering his face. Archie just smiled.

"So, are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?" Jughead asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Absolutely." She took a seat opposite them. "But you have to promise me something. This all stays between us, no one else is allowed to know about any of this. Understand?"

Archie nodded. "We promise we won't tell anyone."

"Besides, it's not like we want the entire school to find out that we're a pair of freaks." Jughead muttered under his breath.

"And one other thing..." Veronica murmured, looking down at her perfectly manicured hands. "I know it sounded like I was joking before, but now I'm being serious... Will you guys actually be my friends? Please, I've never had proper friends before."

"Veronica, of course we'll be your friends." Archie smiled warmly at her.

"In fact, let's be best friends." Jughead smirked, proud of himself for perfectly quoting her.   
"Thanks so much you guys!" She smiled. "So... Where should I start?"

"How about you start from the beginning?" Jughead suggested.

"Alright..." Veronica took a deep breath. This was the first time she had told anyone about this. "Basically, my parents are scientists. It's their job to try and bend the rules of nature, and make something new out of it. They used to be on top of their game until they were caught using some illegal drugs and both their licences got revoked. But that didn't stop them. They already had all the money they needed to continue to do what they were doing under the nose of the government, and hire a large group of people who could help them. For them, doing all of this only meant that they could do things that they could do things that they weren't able to do before. For example, they could experiment on people. So they stormed hospitals, insane asylums, anywhere where they could find people who were 'unusual'. People who had something about them that most other people couldn't explain, or cure for that matter. They ran tests on them, they practically tortured them. To avoid getting found out my parents created fake lives, and they took drastic measures to keep their real identities hidden. My dad bought his own business, he actually took the time to marry my mom, they even had me... For a long time I was just their cover, until they realised that I could be their little spy. Are you guys keeping up, by the way? You seem confused."

"Yeah, we're keeping up. This is just all a lot to take in." Archie breathed out, running his fingers through his hair.

"Well, bare with me because there's more," Veronica told him. "They made me do most of their dirty work, but they never made me catch anyone. However, they made it my job to find them. Like my most recent assignment. You see, this whole time my dad has never really cared for all the other patients who they've been experimenting on, he's had his eye on one prize. And that's you two."

"Wait, why?" Jughead asked.

"Because of the electricity coming from your hearts, the stuff that makes your veins glow." She explained. "Only, it's not electricity exactly, it's... I don't... I don't know yet, they won't tell me what it is."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. Do your parents know it's us? Like specifically us?" Archie asked nervously.

"No. They only know your age, and the fact that you go to Riverdale high school." Veronica reassured them. "They only found out that information a few days ago, that's why they sent me to go to school here. So that I could find you and rat you out."

The boys both looked at each other, before Archie leaned forward. "Why didn't you?"

Veronica let out a deep breath. "Because I just couldn't, and I'm not too sure why. When you grabbed my arm yesterday, I could feel your pulse and all the electrical currents running through your veins. But I didn't tell my parents about it, because I don't want to be like them. I want to be my own person, I want to make my own rules, I want to help people... I want help you guys."

Archie nodded slowly before sitting back down. "You said that you have no idea about why this is happening to us, or why your parents even want us in the first place?"

"I don't know anything about that, they refuse to tell me. They refuse to tell me a lot of things. In fact, I'm not even 100% sure that Lodge is my real last name."

"Do you know where you could get that information?" Archie questioned.

"Probably in my parent's files." Veronica shrugged. "But I'm not allowed to go through there, and I'd have to do a fair amount of digging to find all the information that we need."

This time it was Jughead who leaned forward. "What do we have to do in return for you to go through your parent's files?" He asked.

Veronica smirked. "Buy me some fries and onion rings for tonight."

Jughead tilted his head to one side and looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "That's it? If your parents are as dangerous as you say they are, going through their private files is practically a death wish!"

"Didn't you hear me before, Juggie?" Veronica smiled. "I said I want to help you guys, I don't need anything in return... Apart from onion rings."


	7. Chapter 7

Veronica was going to take a risk, she likes to do that, and she likes to rebel against her parents even more. So, while her parents are out the house she decides she has to sneak into her dad's office. While the cats away the mice will play. Firstly, Veronica searches for the keys to her dad's office and finds them in the drawer beside his bed. Armed with what she needs she stops outside the locked office door, and twisting her head left and right- just to be sure- and then slides the key into the lock. Once the door has clicked open Veronica steps inside, feeling very on edge, she doesn't know when her parents are due home- they could come through the front door at any given moment. 

After flicking through several stacks of notes she finds the folder she needs, labelled: electric veins phenomena. Exactly what she's looking for; and hopefully it holds all the answers to Jughead's and Archie's questions. Slipping the folder under her arm, Veronica leaves the office- locking it back up as if she's never been there in the first place and calls Archie. They arrange to meet at Archie's house, apparently his dad is out and there's no one else in the house other than Jughead. 

Later, Veronica is tapping on Archie's front door and soon Jughead answers, with a small smile on his face. 

"I have what you need." She tells him, shoving Jughead out the way and entering the house. Archie is standing in the hallway, leaning against the staircase and raising his eyebrows up at Veronica. She winks at him and then wonders towards the kitchen. Both Jughead and Archie follow close behind, when they enter she's spreading piles of paper out onto the side. 

"Hopefully this is the answer to all your questions," Veronica smirks at the boys- who look visibly pleased at the news.

"You think so?" Archie asked, walking around to stand beside Veronica, he shot Jughead a hopeful look because this could be the moment when they're finally not in the dark about what is going on with them- some light could be seen at the end of the tunnel. Jughead smiles softly at Archie and wonders over to him, slipping his fingers into his hand and watching Veronica intently. 

"So, it says here that when a person whose veins glow, much like you and Jughead," Veronica began, reading from the sheet of paper in her dainty hand. "It essentially means that you have a soul mate, and usually the person who is also your soulmate veins light up- which is the case with you two, yes?" 

Jughead and Archie look at each other, Jughead's cheeks are tinted ever so slightly pink and Archie squeezes his hand reassuringly. 

"Yeah, both mine and Juggie's glow- does that make us soulmates?" Archie dares to ask and Veronica nods her reply to his question. 

"Exactly! Which is adorable," She beams, making it no secret that she loves how romantic all this sounds. "It means no matter what happens you two have to be together in the end, and if anyone tries to come in between that you won't feel anything for that person because your heart is rooted to your soulmates." 

Jughead runs a hand across his face, registering all this new found information. He knew he'd always cared about Archie, and loved him deeply, he'd even told him so back when they had their short romance in the past. But he never thought soulmates were in the question, that's a big deal- that means he'll always have to be with Archie and deep down Jughead loves that idea. He loves Archie and if he could he stay with him forever. 

"Are you two going to get together now?" Veronica grins, noticing Jughead and Archie's interlocked fingers at their sides. Both Archie and Jughead knew this was a conversation they would have to be having at some point over the coming days. 

Later that night Archie couldn't get the days talk from his head. He's been told that Jughead is his soulmate which is so much to take in. He knows that Jughead can't sleep either- he keeps shifting around on that air mattress making it creak. Archie wants to say something to fill the hungry silence but he doesn't know what. Words are racing around his head but he can't bring them to form a sentence on the tip of his tongue. He sighs, running a hand through his hair. Jughead sighs too and Archie nearly cracks a smile. Nearly. 

"Juggie.." he begins, voice hushed in the equally quiet room. He hears Jughead hum his reply and continues. "What you said yesterday about being with someone while you were dating Betty what did you mean." 

"You know what I meant Archie," Jughead breaths, sitting up in his bed and facing Archie who sits upright too. "Before I began dating Betty we had something, you and I, we had a connection." 

"Then why did you date her?" Archie asks, his voice coming out harsher than he would have liked. Jughead stands up from his bed and tells Archie to budge up while he slips in beside him. Archie can feel the side of Jughead's body against his and gulps at their closeness- his veins threatening to light up at his racing heart and thoughts. 

"I should never have done it you, Arch, I was just confused because you are a boy and I didn't know what that made me. But I don't care about any of that now, I know it's about how I feel- how happy someone makes me. You make me so happy Archie, it unreal."

Archie turns to look at Jughead whose laying beside him in bed and smiles, he reaches out to brush a hand across his face, fingertips trailing over his cheekbones. It was just the sound of their breaths in the room and everything was peaceful. Then tearing through the silence was Archie's phone, which gave a shrill ring, causing Jughead to sigh and the little moment to end. 

It was just his dad. His own dad ruined what he'd been waiting to do for months. 

# 

The very next day Veronica entered the school with her head held high, the heels of her shoes tapping against the floor. She hadn't been caught for stealing those notes for Archie and Jughead, so she felt successful. And was really glad to have provided some answers to their questions. 

As she turned a corner she bumped into someone, a slim framed girl with flowing red hair and ruby red lipstick to match. 

"Sorry I didn't see you there," Veronica apologised but the redhead just tutted and fixed her hair.   
"Watch where you're going next time," she warned, flouncing away, before joining Veronica's side once more. Veronica sent her a look, a confused eyebrows pulled together look. And all the pretty red-haired girl did was smile and extended a graceful hand out for Veronica- who took it and gave it a small shake. 

"I'm Cheryl Blossom and you are?" The girl now known as Cheryl introduced herself and Veronica made a mental note to remember the name. 

"Veronica Lodge." 

"Well, Veronica how do you feel about joining my cheerleading team?" 

"Oh I," Veronica smiled, tightening the hold she had on her bag that was hung around her arm. "I would be honoured." 

"Great," Cheryl said, with a forced smile on her lips and it was evident being friendly was not her strongest point. "Follow me." 

So Veronica did, trailing behind Cheryl as they weaved through the halls, until the ended up in a hall- where many girls were standing waiting. 

There was one girl, with bright blue eyes, that looked friendly enough that Veronica gravitated towards. She gave the blonde girl her best smile and the girl did the same back. 

"Veronica," she introduced herself once more and being the new girl she felt as if that's all she did- introduce herself. 

"Betty," the blonde grinned and the two instantly connected. There was no awkward stage, just a blossoming friendship. 

"I didn't particularly want to do this," Betty began, glancing at Veronica and then back over at Cheryl- who was bossing people about. "My boyfriend, well ex now, encouraged me too." 

"Oh," Veronica nodded, keeping her stare trained on Betty- noticing her face drop slightly as she mentioned her ex. "Did things end badly between you and your ex?" Veronica was nosy, she likes to know all the gossip and she's not afraid to ask for it either. 

"No, I think we just fell out of love, him more so." Betty told her, her fingers tugging at the hem of her shirt- avoiding Veronica's stare. "He was amazing but I always thought there was some else."

"You thought he was in love with someone else while he dated you? How rude, just wait until I get my hands on this boy- who is he by the way?" 

"His names Jughead, a funny one I know." 

Veronica's rage towards this mystery boy dispersed at the knowledge it was Jughead, her new best friend, who she also knew was Archie's soulmate. 

Everything just became a whole lot more confusing.


	8. Chapter 8

It took almost the whole lunch break for Veronica to explain the situation of Jughead's new relationship to Betty without coming off too harsh - and also without mentioning the whole electric veins thing. So she had to lie about how she met Archie and Jughead, and slightly bend the truth on the reason why they ended up getting together. Granted, she felt bad lying to the first girl who she had immediately connected with, but she felt as though it was her duty to protect as many people as possible, if Betty ended up getting involved in this there was no telling what could happen to her. Archie and Jughead were already in the direct line of fire, Veronica couldn't bare the thought of putting Betty in danger too.

"So, Jughead is dating Archie now..." Betty concluded, folding her arms across her chest and looking down at the floor.

"Pretty much, yeah." Veronica answered. She awaited a reply from the blonde, but instead Betty gave her silence. "Betty? Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I'm fine." Betty muttered. She clearly didn't sound fine. "I always expected those two to get together in the end, and I'm happy for them, I really am. I just feel so bad... Back when Jughead and I were a thing I was so controlling over him, I'd never let him talk or even think about Archie. I don't know why I acted like that or why I thought it was ok, but I hate myself for it now. When we broke up, I told him that I would always be there for him, but after the way I treated him I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want me to be there. He probably never wants to see me again. I'm the villain of this story."

"I'm sure that's not true..." Veronica sympathised. "Jughead's not that kind of guy. And you, Betty, are no villain. Trust me when I say that, because I know what true evil looks like. Sure, you may have been a controlling psycho girlfriend back then, but if you feel bad about it now then there's no doubt that you've learnt from your mistakes. You probably only acted like that because you were afraid, afraid of letting go of your first love. Well, I'm telling you now, you will find someone else. You are a beautiful blonde-haired bombshell with a wonderful personality that shines through all of your flaws. I know it, even Jughead knows it. And if no one else can see that, they're all blind."

The sweet, approachable smile that Betty hadn't worn for a while finally returned to her face, once Veronica finished her mini speech. What the raven-haired girl had said about her made her feel warm inside, it brought back the confidence that she feared was long gone. Betty recalled one of her late night phone calls with her best friend Kevin, where he told her that sometimes a friend is better than a boyfriend. Perhaps this was one of those times.

"Thanks, Veronica... That really means a lot."

"You're welcome, Elizabeth Cooper. And since I am such a kind and benevolent human being, I'm going to organise a little get together between them two and us two."

Betty's smile turned into a confused frown. "Which two?"

"You know, them two. The newest couple in Riverdale! Archie and Jughead!" Veronica beamed, already texting Archie details about where to meet up after school.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?!" Betty spoke fast like she normally does when she's nervous. "I mean, I'd love to but... Me and Jughead in the same room. What if it gets awkward? What if I say something wrong and drive him away again? What if I ruin the entire thing before it even starts?"

"Slow down there, sweetie!" Veronica stopped Betty in her panicking tracks. "Stop worrying, it's going to be fine. You need this, you both need this. You guys can't keep avoiding each other forever."

Betty slowly nodded in agreement. Veronica was right. No matter how hard it may seem, she needed to talk to Jughead again.

*

"I got a text from Veronica." Archie told Jughead, looking down at his phone, being sure not to crash into anyone on the way to their next class.

"What does it say?" Jughead asked.

Archie looked down at his phone to read the text out loud. "She says: Meet me at pop's after school. Nothing serious, just for fun." He turned back to Jughead. "Do you want to go? It would be nice to forget about the fact that we're literally being hunted down by Veronica's parents for a night, wouldn't it?"

Jughead didn't even hear the last part of what Archie said, he was more focused on the group of jocks that were about to walk past them. Leading them was none other than Reggie Mantle, the guy who found some twisted satisfaction in making Jughead's life a living hell. Jughead looked down at the floor to avoid any eye contact, but he could still feel Reggie's eyes on him like sharp daggers piercing into his soul. Thankfully they left him alone, probably because they saw Archie and knew that this wasn't the best time to pick a fight. Jughead breathed a silent sigh of relief once they were gone.

"Jug?" Archie questioned, noticing that Jughead wasn't paying attention to anything he was saying. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Yeah, I'm fine nothing's wrong... Pop's with Veronica sounds great." He probably should've told Archie about being bullied right then, but he stopped himself before that important piece of information left his mouth.

Just like Archie had mentioned before, they had a huge problem that they were both dealing with right now, and Jughead didn't think that something as simple as a school bully was worthy of their attention at this point in time. Sure, Reggie may push him, hurt him (both physically and mentally), and call him things that only homophobes would find amusing, but Archie didn't need to know that. Jughead would tell him when he thought the time was right, or at least that's what he told himself every time it happened.

"Ok..." Archie nodded, eyeing Jughead in a way that seemed to gesture that he didn't quite believe him. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Yeah, of course! Would I ever lie to you?"

"Yes... You probably would." Archie smiled, teasing Jughead to try and lighten the mood.

"That's besides the point!" Jughead chuckled, playfully pushing Archie to the side, smiling as the redhead stumbled backwards.

The play fight would've continued, but sadly the bell rang signalling the two boys that they needed to depart from each other to go to their last lessons of the day. They both sighed in disappointment, pretending to regain the dignity that they never even lost.

"Meet at your locker after school?" Archie suggested.

"Sure." Jughead shrugged.

"Cool, see you later, alright?" And at that Archie gave Jughead a quick peck on the lips before turning around and running off to his class.

Jughead should have left for class too, but he didn't. He just stood there, replaying that moment in his head over and over again. Archie had just kissed him. It wasn't anything hot, their lips practically brushed against each other, but it was still something. Archie had still tried to kiss him, and Jughead had actually liked it. From his time with Betty, he had never really liked the thought of people kissing each other. He just thought it was a way of winning someone over or manipulating someone after losing an argument, but that's only because he had never received one that was actually sincere with no intention of gaining anything. And now that he had experienced the real thing, his perspective had completely changed.

Jughead let a small smile spread across his face as he finally started to make his way to the science lab, still locked in a daydream.

*

"You're biting your fingernails again." Veronica pointed out to Betty who was sitting opposite her in a booth at pop's diner.

The long school day was finally over, and now Betty and Veronica were just waiting for Archie and Jughead to join them. Veronica hadn't told either of the boys that the blonde-haired beauty was here with her, because she wanted to keep it as a surprise.

Betty immediately pulled her hands away from her mouth. "Sorry..." She apologised. "I'm just nervous, I guess."

"Well, you shouldn't be, Betty. It's only Jughead and Archie. It's not like we're waiting for Chuck Clayton to walk through that door."

"I know..." Betty sighed, looking down at her vanilla milkshake and taking a small sip.

"Hey..." Veronica spoke in a tone that seemed to say that she would always be there for Betty, no matter what. "It's going to be fine, alright? You're going to be fine."

Betty smiled nervously. Just then, the sound of the door opening echoed behind them, causing Betty to spin round to see who it was. Standing there were the two boys that they had been waiting for, but Betty noticed something different about one of them. In all the time that she had known Jughead, she had never seen him like this. He seemed... Content.

There was a brief moment where Archie and Jughead just stood there, obviously quite surprised to see Betty sitting there with Veronica. In no way were they against it, they just weren't expecting it. Out of everyone there it was actually Archie who felt the most out of place, considering technically he was the reason why Jughead and Betty broke up in the first place.

"Betty..." Jughead started.

"Hi, Jug..." Betty spoke softly, just to establish that she meant no harm.

"Are you guys going to come and sit?" Veronica asked, trying to avert the awkward tension.

Jughead nodded and took a seat next to Veronica, while Archie trailed behind him like a silent ghost and took an empty space beside Betty.

"Jug, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Betty immediately broke the silence.

"For what?" Jughead questioned.

"For treating you the way I did..."

"Is that what this is all about?" Jughead asked, causing Betty to look over at Veronica, giving him all the confirmation he needed. "Betty, there's no need to apologise, everything's forgiven. In fact, being with you actually helped me discover more about myself. If anything, you actually helped me."

"Really?" Hearing that made Betty feel warm inside. She loved nothing more than being there for people and offering help when they needed it, so knowing that she had helped Jughead rather than hurt him had just brightened her day.

Jughead smiled. "Yeah."

"See, Betty! I told you there was nothing to worry about!" Veronica laughed, which caused the others to laugh along with her.

After that there was absolutely no awkward feeling, just everyone feeling comfortable around each other. Well, there was one moment when Archie double checked that he was on good terms with Betty, to which Betty simply replied "of course", and then they swiftly moved on. The atmosphere was so joyous, in this moment they all felt like ordinary kids. Archie and Jughead had forgot about the fact that their veins lit up, Veronica had forgot that her parents were hunting down two of her best friends, as for Betty, well, she was completely oblivious to the many strange problems that were invisibly weaving their way in and out of their neon-lit booth.

And then, unexpectedly, a fifth voice joined in with their conversation. They looked up to see that it was Kevin Keller, the sheriff's son and Betty's best friend from day one.

"Two of my favourite ships at one table?!" Kevin exclaimed, clearly excited. "Am I in heaven?"

"What ships, Kev?" Betty asked, obviously a little worried about what he was going to say next.

"Um... Duh! Jarchie and Beronica!" Kevin pointed at the two pairs. "I knew that Jarchie was real, I just knew it! As for Beronica, well, I saw you two walking around the school together in your cheerleading gear and I immediately started shipping it. #Sorrynotsorry."

The girls looked at each other, a bright red blush forming on their cheeks. Meanwhile, the boys just laughed at how adorable they looked.

"Would you like to join us, Kev?" Archie asked, offering him a seat.

"Of course!" Kevin smiled. "What kind of idiot would say no to that invitation?"

*

Veronica's bright smile was still evident on her face as she walked back to her apartment, that night was certainly one of the best nights she had ever experienced. Clearing up things between Betty, Jughead and Archie, being able to meet Kevin and finding out how hilarious he was, and just having a good time, it made her feel like... A normal girl. However, this didn't last for long. As soon as she walked through the door, she was met by her parents. They didn't even have to say anything for Veronica to realise that she was in deep, deep trouble.

"What's up?" Veronica asked, hoping and praying that they wouldn't mention anything about the missing files. Turns out her wishing was for nothing.

"Veronica..." Her dad spoke to her in a way that made her feel small and powerless. "The files about the electric veins phenomena. They were in my office, and now they are gone."

"Well, I don't know anything about them!" Veronica stated almost immediately. She tried to leave, but her dad grabbed hold of her arm before she could escape the situation. Out of the corner of her eye Veronica could see her mother, who seemed like she was about to get up out of her seat and help her. But she never did. It was the same as always.

"I think you're lying." Her father told her sternly.

"I'm not lying!" Veronica shrieked, although it was clear that no one in the room, not even herself, believed her.

Before they could say anything to her, Veronica pulled herself free from her father's grasp and stormed upstairs to her room, locking the door firmly behind her. Feeling useless, she crawled under the covers of her large bed and let her salty tears slowly roll down her face. She was fully aware that her dad didn't believe that she wasn't lying, and she was terrified of what he was planning to do next.

*

"Archie?" Jughead asked, as they walked back to Archie's house through the cold October night, the icy wind nipping at their cheeks and noses.

"Yeah, Jug?" Archie replied, squeezing Jughead's hand even tighter.

Jughead bit his lip before continuing. "Earlier today, just after lunch break, you kissed me, Archie..."

"Oh yeah... Sorry about that."

"Wait, what?" Jughead was a little taken aback, since that was nowhere near the reply he was expecting. "You're sorry that you kissed me?"

"No, Juggie..." Archie smiled and wrapped his arms around Jughead's waist, pulling him closer until he could feel his warm breath against his face. "I'm not sorry that I kissed you... I'm sorry that I didn't kiss you hard enough."

Jughead gasped as Archie pulled him even closer and connected their lips in a deep and passionate kiss, nothing like the one that they had shared before. Both of them could feel the electricity running through their veins, which caused them to come alive underneath the sleeves of their jackets, but they didn't care. That is until Archie noticed a tall dark figure walking slowly towards them. Neither of the boys knew who it was, but they knew that it was there for them. Both of the heartbeats started to accelerate as the figure moved closer, making it easier for them to spot certain features. Now they could see that the figure was a man with a mask covering his face, only his eyes showing through the dark fabric.

Jughead clung onto Archie and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for impact.

BANG!

It was a gunshot.

But it wasn't the man who fired it. In fact, he was the target.

The bullet flew through the air and embedded itself deep into his arm. The man howled in pain, giving the two boys a chance to turn around to see who had fired the gun. It was a girl. Around their age, her face covered by the same kind of mask, and there was something about her that seemed awfully familiar.

"Come with me if you want to live!" She told them, her voice was muffled beyond recognition.

Even though neither Archie or Jughead knew who she was, she possibly had just saved their lives and therefore they chose to trust her. She ran off and beckoned them to follow her, which they did. They followed her further than they expected, until they were almost out of town. She stopped outside an old house which looked like it hadn't been used in years, opening the door for Archie and Jughead to get inside.

"Get inside!" She insisted. "Don't ask any questions, just go! We'll be safe here."

The two boys obliged, and ran inside, the mystery following after them and closing the door behind her. As soon as they were all safe inside, Jughead practically collapsed on the floor gasping for breath.

"Jug, are you alright?" Archie asked, offering him a hand to get up, which Jughead took and didn't let go of.

"I'm fine..." Jughead reassured him. "I just hate running..."

"Yeah, I know." The girl chuckled, walking towards the boys.

Archie was extremely confused with this remark. "How?" He questioned.

"Do we know you?" Jughead asked.

"You could say that..." She said, removing her mask.

As soon as they saw her face the boy's faces dropped and their eyes widened.

They both spoke in unison. "Josie?!"


	9. Chapter 9

There are times in life when you have to stray from the rules, and in Josie's case she needed too- people lives were on the line. She wasn't heartless, when she was told she'd have to catch two young men, hunt them like they were animals, her heart skipped a beat or two. And that feeling of dread, deep in the pit of her stomach, amplified when she realized she knew the two boys. Jughead Jones and Archie Andrews, two people who kept to themselves had been ultimately thrown into the fire pit, catapulted into a game of cat and mouse, just because their veins sparked like a match around each other.

She had to step in, put herself between the plans that Hiram Lodge had decided. It was most likely a terrible call to make, she'd land herself in trouble for sure, but at least her conscience was happy and intact.

Pop's diner, the small but popular diner at the edge of town- Josie followed the glow of the high neon sign above until she was stood at the door, gun poised in hand, then with a deep breath- it was time.

~

Running had never been one of Jughead's strong points, although he had ran faster than ever when his life is at risk- or so the masked person had said. With Archie's hand in his, fingers interlocked in a silent promise to not let go and stay together in that moment, he sprinted, away from apparent danger- the town of Riverdale flicking past his gaze- like paint on an artists canvas. His heart, a reminder of his life and health, pumped within his chest- pounding against his rib cage, some breaths felt like fire in his lungs. But he supposed he'd rather be out of breath and breathing rapidly than not at all. He'd made a passing joke about his hatred of running, because that was Jughead- awkward tense situation? he'd make a joke, lighten the air.

In some ways the masked person who'd just saved both Jughead and Archie's life was their guardian angel, sent from above. and in other ways it turns out to be the girl who sings in a band with her friends in their very school- its just another human being, saving them, this one with thoughts and feelings and a heart. Because she couldn't bare to see Archie and Jughead die, they lived to see another day- and it was down to her, Josie would be their hero from now on.

The house, if that's what it could be called, it was barely stood up- on its last legs, the door nearly snapped off its hinges when it'd been slammed- the barrier between safety and the outside world. It was cold, damp and desolate, would be better off in a horror movie, perhaps that's what Jughead's life was becoming.

The words Josie had delivered to the boys, in hushed tones as if she was worried someone, anyone, can hear her- although Jughead's not sure anyone is around for miles, this is a small town after all. Had been "stay low and away from plain sight". Which was going to be incredibly difficult, what were they to do when the sun comes out and shines on them like a spotlight? she'd also told them that she had rebelled, and that Hiram Lodge, Jughead and Archie's latest enemy, is desperate to get his hands on the boys- or how Josie had put it 'around their necks'. Tests, all for tests, because of glowing veins Jughead and Archie's normal life had been thrown knee-deep into turmoil- and for now neither of them could see a quick way out of that swirling sea- or anyway out at all for that matter, quick or not. She'd promised to protect them, warn them as and when Hiram was slowly inching closer to them. Veronica too was on their side, she more than anyone else must know her father's next move before Josie.

~

Veronica simply had no clue as to what her dad was planning, she tried her best smile, a wide grin, making her eyes glow and the soft whisper of 'daddy' to see if she could sweet talk him into giving her an idea. But he wasn't letting go of his secrets anytime soon, not even for her. She thought that her mother must know more than she's pretending, and that was confirmed when she chose to look at anything but Veronica's eyes when she'd asked her how much she knew.

"Mother, please, these are my friends," Veronica pleaded to her mothers better nature, she flicked her gaze over her shoulder to where her father was busy behind his locked office door. Most likely conjuring up another plan to harm her friends. "I can't sit back while my father chooses to hunt them down like animals. They have done nothing wrong- they fell in love!"

"Veronica keep your voice down, your father will hear you."

"I don't care," She huffed, tempted to stamp her foot- she's too old for all that now, it worked when she was young however. "How can you live with yourself? you're happy to stand back and let my friends get dragged around like circus clowns?"

"Of course not V." Hermione sighed, long since tired of carrying her husband's problems on her shoulders. Those boys he was chasing were no older than 18 and her own daughter's friends. "I cant. I'll help in any way I can- I'll even help hide the boys. Just keep your mouth zipped around your father."

~

Staying low, that's what Jughead and Archie were doing. Hiding in the shadows. But it was hard for Jughead to stay out sight when everywhere he went was met with the shouted name-calling that came from his tormentors. That day was no different, Reggie's voice carried down the corridors, assaulting Jughead's ears as he flinched. Not again.

"Hey, freak!" Reggie called out, his cronies laughing behind him, as if he was the funniest guy in the world- he wasn't- and he made Jugheads already spiralling downward life, a straight down decent into hell. Jughead's legs made a move to continue walking and the door to the exit was close, Archie was on the other side- waiting- he was so nearly there when the hood of his jacket was yanked back, halting his movements.

He gulped, heavily, almost audibly.

"Trying to run away from me, freak? you really think you could outrun me?" Reggie pressed, each word said with a step until Jugheads back collided with the cold steel lockers with a rattled thump. The hallway was empty, school had been finished under ten minutes but no one hangs around long, they go home as soon as possible. Jughead would have been at home too if it hadn't of been for the fact he'd left behind his book- mind preoccupied with the thoughts of possible incoming danger. And Reggie stayed behind to bully students, and as usual, Jughead was his prey- something's never change.

"Have you even got the brain capacity to put two feet in front of you, Reggie?" Jughead smirked, watching as Reggie's draw dropped, almost to the floor, in disbelief. Jughead never stands up for himself; usually he just lies down and takes it. "That's not too difficult for you then?"

"Oh look, boys," Reggie twisted his face to sneer at his buddies, who straightened their previously slouched forms and huffed. "Juggie's finally defending himself and giving us a real fight."

It was inevitable that Reggie was going to swing a punch at Jughead, yet, he still stumbled back in surprise when his fist met his face. He'd come looking for a fight, the moment he'd slinked out from behind a closed door and caught sight a defenceless Jughead.

Archie was becoming absolutely delirious waiting for Jughead, when he spotted him approaching the car with an arm wrapped around his middle. He could have sworn he saw him flinch as he got into the car.

"What took you so long?" He asked him, briefly flicking his eyes to his boyfriend, before pulling out of the school and onto the road, other cars now whizzing past.

"Turns out my book wasn't where I thought I had left it and had to look for it, sorry."

~

Later that evening, when the moon had replaced the sun, Jughead felt as if he could still sense Reggie's fists pounding against him, the remainder of the incident in the corridor in the form of bruises on his back and front. Ugly purple stains littering his skin and contrasting with his pale colour.

He'd done his best hiding his injuries from Archie, although he did wince with every step he took, Archie was too caught up in thinking about the plans Hiram had for them. He couldn't tell him, Archie would take it all on his shoulders and drown in a sea of stress; Jughead couldn't be the one to push him deeper. Instead he held his hand at the dinner table and smiled through his pain, his teeth gritted.

It wasn't until later that Jugheads little secret came to light, as Archie pulled him closer in bed, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him to his chest- the pressure on his bruises made him gasp, a sound that had not gone unnoticed in the quiet room.

"Jug?" Archie whispered, his voice soft and gentle yet Jughead flinched- possibly because of the conversation he was about to face.

"Just leave it, go to sleep Arch." There was an edge to Jugheads tone of voice, a warning to drop it, but Archie was persistent. And Jughead felt his fingertips trailing down his shirt covered back, stopping at the hem of the shirt that clung to his upper half. Then Archie's breath catching in his throat was audible as he lifted Jughead's shirt- he remained still as the cool air hit his back.

"Who did this, love?" Archie muttered, his forehead resting against Jughead shoulder and Jughead didn't dare face him because he knew if he did he'd see tears gathering behind those beautiful eyes. The moment had caught up with Archie, his initial shock at seeing his lovers back scattered in ugly bruises, had left him with raw pain and concern. "Who's been hurting you?"

"Reggie." Jughead said it, without skirting around the obvious, he thought about lying to Archie again, but he couldn't. "I should have told you, I'm sorry it's just-"

"Don't worry about that, he's my problem now, not yours."

Jughead was about to reply but Archie's head moved from his shoulder and down to his back, and he gasped as he felt warm, soft, lips meet his bruises. The feeling of Archie's breath drifting across his skin made him shiver, and his eyes welled up with tears- making his vision swim. Never in his life had he felt this loved, this cared for, it made his body tingle and heart race. Archie's touch made the veins in his hands spark like a match, and it was those veins that have started this whole running and chasing business, but if it hadn't of been for those veins Jughead would still be stuck in an unhappy relationship with Betty and that made him shiver more than the rest. Jughead fell asleep that night wrapped, gently, in the arms of his boyfriend and a heart twice the size as it swelled with love for the redhead behind him fast asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

"Veronica."

Veronica was about to make her way to her room, but immediately holted upon hearing her father's voice, spinning around on her heels to face him. "Yes, daddy?"

"Tonight me and your mother have organised a meeting with the mayor." Hiram told her. "But Hermione has just told me that she isn't feeling too well." He glanced over at his wife who sat next to him, massaging her head as if she had a headache. "So, I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining me to fill out your mother's position."

This news certainly confused Veronica. Not the news about the meeting, since her father was still seen as a successful businessman in the eyes of Riverdale, but the news about her mother feeling under the weather. One of the things that made Hermione stand out was the fact that she almost never seemed to get sick, she would always be the one who would look after everyone else. So how come she had suddenly fallen ill now of all times? Flooded with questions, Veronica looked over to her mother for answers. But all she got was a look that seemed to say "just do it, I'll explain everything later when it's just me and you."

"Sure." Veronica finally replied, putting her complete trust in her mother. "I'd love to join you... Daddy."

*

For the outside looking in, it seemed like any ordinary dinner party for the rich and successful. But for Veronica and Josie, the tension was high.

It only took one look for Veronica to recognise the eyes of the girl sitting opposite her as the eyes of one of her dad's agents. Josie knew that Veronica was well aware of her other life, the one involving Hiram Lodge, and she knew that she would have questions that only she, Josie McCoy, could answer. So, whenever Josie wasn't trying to avoid eye contact with Hiram, she and his daughter made a silent agreement that as soon as they were both excused, they were going to tell each other everything. As in everything.

* 

The next school day seemed to start like any other, apart from one tiny detail: Archie knew about they way Reggie had been treating Jughead, and now he couldn't stop thinking about it. There wasn't a single moment where Archie wasn't searching the halls or the classroom for Reggie and his gang, hoping to give him what he deserved. But he never found him. That is until Archie and Jughead disappeared into the school library for their free period, Jughead hardly focusing on his book due to the fact that he hardly slept the night before. Meanwhile Archie was just staring into space, and then almost instantly snapped back to reality when he spotted Reggie and his goonies leave the room. Just seeing their faces made Archie's blood boil, he knew that this was his chance to get back at Reggie for all of the pain that he had caused for Jughead. Within a split second, Archie was out of his seat and ready to hunt down the group of jocks, but his mission was interrupted by Jughead, who obviously had no idea why Archie had stood up so suddenly.

"Arch, what's going on?" The raven-haired boy asked. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Archie reassured him. "I just need to sort something out. Stay here for me, alright?" 

And at that Archie stormed out through the library door and into the school halls, which were practically deserted. He could hear Reggie's voice echoing through the empty halls and as if almost by default Archie ran in its direction. As soon as he caught up with them he wasted no time in grabbing hold of Reggie's shoulder, spinning him around so that he could properly face him. It didn't take long for the rest of the jocks to realise that it was about to go down between Archie and their alpha male, so they quickly scattered before they became a part of anything.

"What the hell, Andrews?" Reggie questioned, clearly trying to seem intimidating and make Archie back off. But Archie stood his ground, he wasn't going to back down that easily.

"I know about the way you've been treating Jughead, Reggie." Archie stated. "Don't bother denying it, I know that you've hurt him."

"What? That weirdo? I don't get what the big deal is. He deserves it just for purely existing."

Archie clenched his fists. "Don't you dare say that!" He spoke through gritted teeth. "Jughead doesn't deserve any of this! And you'd probably know that if you actually took the time to ask what's going on in his life. The only person who deserves any of this is you. Why? Because you're a dick, Reggie Mantle!"

"Do you want to get seriously hurt, Archie Andrews?" Reggie threatened, stepping closer. "Keep going and that's what'll happen."

"I'd like to see you try." 

Just then, Archie heard footsteps coming up behind him. He turned around to see Jughead standing there, his expression was a mixture of shock and confusion.

"Archie? What the hell is going on here?" Jughead asked, not daring to look Reggie in the eye.

"I told you to stay in the library," Archie told him.

"And did you really think that was going to happen?"

Then, unexpectedly, another voice chimed in. 

"Oh my gosh..." Betty exclaimed as she stood there in the hallway. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together and figure out what was going on.

"Butt out, Betty," Reggie warned her. "Let us men handle this."

"Um, I think not!" Betty retaliated, before turning to Archie and Jughead. "C'mon guys, let's go. We don't have time for this."

Jughead did as Betty told him and joined her by her side, but Archie didn't move a muscle. 

"Archie? Come on, we're leaving." Betty said again.

"I'd listen to her if I were you, Archibald." Reggie smirked.

"Nice try, Reginald, but I'm not going anywhere." Archie stated.

"Arch, seriously?" Jughead took hold of Archie's hand to try and pull him away, but he was unsuccessful. "Do we have to do this now?"

The atmosphere was tense, they could all feel it. So tense that the sound of three pairs of heels walking their way was almost drowned out. It was only Betty who noticed the familiar sound of the designer shoes against the school corridor floor. She turned around to see Veronica, Josie, and Cheryl. This was literally the worst case scenario.

"See?" Cheryl smiled. "I told you guys I sensed drama."

"Boys?" Veronica tried to get their attention, but it was no use. Reggie was too focused on Archie, Archie was too focused on Reggie, and Jughead was too focused on making sure that they didn't start beating the crap out of each other.

"What I don't get is why you care so much about Wednesday Adams over here, Archie." Reggie questioned, causing Archie to flinch. "The only reason I can think of is... Wait." He stepped back for a moment, chuckling to himself upon the fact that he had just discovered the redhead's little secret. "Are you and Donnie Darko together?"

Archie fell silent, so did Jughead. Neither of them confirmed it, since they didn't want to give Reggie the satisfaction; but they didn't deny it either, mainly because they knew that there was no point in lying.

"Honestly, I saw it coming." Cheryl muttered to herself.

"Not now, Cheryl." Veronica told her.

"So it's true..." Reggie smirked, feeling somewhat proud of himself. "Archie Andrews, Riverdale's star football player, is into boys!"

Archie wasn't going to take any more of this, so he shoved Reggie back into the metallic lockers that stood behind him. Of course Reggie retaliated, and before anyone could do anything about it the two jocks had got each other into a violent fistfight. 

While Cheryl was secretly enjoying all of this, Betty, Veronica, and Josie were yelling at the top of their lungs for the two boys to stop. Jughead would have done the same as the rest of the girls, but he knew that it wouldn't help anything, so he took it a step further. He got himself involved with the brawl and grabbed hold of Reggie, trying to pull him off Archie, although his actions seemed to count for almost nothing as the fight continued as if he wasn't even there. Jughead could feel his heart beating faster out of fear, all he could think of was making sure that Archie didn't get beaten to death. "Archie, no, stop it!" He kept playing over and over again inside his head, hoping that it would give him the strength to pull Reggie off his boyfriend. That's when he felt it. The familiar feeling of electricity coursing through his blood and threatening to show through his veins. No, no, no. Not here, not now, not in front of Betty, Cheryl, and Reggie. They can't know. But then something happened that no one, not even Jughead, was expecting. Jughead's veins took their energy through his skin out into the open, resulting in him giving Reggie some kind of powerful electric shock. Reggie shouted in pain and let go of Archie, who ran to Jughead's side. Luckily, Reggie didn't actually see the blast. If he did, he may have been a little more shocked than he was now.

"What the hell was that, Jones?!" Reggie was clearly furious.

"I... I don't..." Jughead couldn't even speak, still frozen from shock. He turned away, pushing past Betty and Cheryl, who just stood there with their mouths agape, and ran into one of the empty classrooms, slamming the door behind him.

As soon as the door was closed, he fell to the floor and broke down in tears. He felt so confused. What the hell happened? That had certainly never happened before. Not only that, but he had also just revealed his and Archie's biggest secret to Betty Cooper and Cheryl Blossom of all people. Everything had just become so much more of a big mess, and it was all his fault.

As he closed his eyes and the tears fell down his cheeks, Jughead heard the door open and felt a pair of arms wrap around him. Although Jughead didn't open his eyes, he could tell that was Archie. However, Archie wasn't the only person in the room. Veronica, Betty, and Josie were also there, and all three of them had hauled Cheryl in there with them.

"Alright..." Cheryl took a deep breath. "I for one would like to know what the hell is going on?!"

"It's a long story..." Josie sighed.

"I'm sorry..." Jughead sobbed, mainly to Archie. "I'm so sorry... I had no idea that was going to happen... I didn't even know that was possible."

"Don't apologise, Juggie." Archie soothed, holding Jughead close to his chest. "We weren't going to be able to keep it a secret forever anyways. And besides, what you did, however the hell you did it, was pretty awesome." He attempted to make the raven-haired boy smile, and it worked but only for a moment."

Betty approached them slowly, crouching down beside them. "Jug?" She whispered.

Jughead opened his eyes to look at her. Although her eyes were teary from the initial shock, she seemed calm.

"I just wanted to tell you both that I'm not afraid..." She continued, still in her hushed tone. "I'm not afraid of you guys, whether your veins glow or not. Because you're still the same boys that I Know and love, and until that changes I will never abandon you. No matter what. Because that's what friends do."

*

After Veronica and Josie explained the whole situation to Betty and Cheryl (and made them make a pledge to not tell a soul about this secret), it was decided that Archie and Jughead should disappear for a while, so they needed to find a place to stay. The first place that came to mind was F.P.'s old trailer. No one would go looking for them there, and there was a 99.9% chance that F.P. wouldn't even be there. 

It felt weird for Jughead to be back here, the last time he had stepped foot in the southside was the night that Archie had texted him to resolve everything that had happened between them. It seemed so long ago. He took a deep breath as he opened the trailer door, peering inside to see if anyone was around. No one, just as he expected.

"Alright, Arch." Jughead called over to Archie, who was still standing by the car that they used to drive here. "The coast is clear."

But Archie didn't move. He just stood there, looking down at the floor.

"Archie?" Jughead tried again. "Are you coming?"

Archie finally spoke up. "I'm scared, Jug. I'm terrified."

"I know, Archie." Jughead sighed, walking down the steps to join Archie, putting his hands on his shoulders reassuringly. "I am too. But we have to stay strong, that's what Veronica told us. Stay strong, and she'd text us in the morning."

"I'm trying, Juggie." Archie said, doing his best to hold back the tears. "Look at us... Two high school kids. We haven't even graduated yet, and we've been thrown into this deadly game of hide and seek. Jughead... What did we do to deserve this?"

Jughead didn't say anything, but instead pulled Archie into a protective hug. At this point the dream future that they had wished for seemed far too out of reach, and they thought they had planned it out so well. They would go to college in New York and live together, Jughead would be a writer and Archie would be a musician. They'd work in a record store or a coffee shop to pay rent, and they may even get married if they felt ready. But none of that could happen, not until they had woken up from this nightmare.

*

Hermione knew that she shouldn't be doing this, especially not under the nose of her husband. But at the same time, she knew that she had to. She had organised a van, big enough to transport at least six people, and had stolen weapons from their secret stash and hidden them under the seats. Amongst the various firearms was Hermione's very own prize gun, which she had taught Veronica how to use in order to protect herself and others.

She was going to get these kids out of here. She was going to save them, whether Hiram liked it or not.


	11. Chapter 11

Back in the trailer, the rising sun began to creep in through the slip in the curtains. The flimsy fabric doing a poor job at hiding the light glaring across Archie and Jughead's huddled forms on the bed. 

Archie's wide awake, listening to the clock tick on the wall- it was like a countdown, a reminder while things are normal now, in the morning sun, the same can't be said for when the moons up later. The mattress under him is lumpy and pressing into his back, he may be sinking further into the sponge however because of the weight on his chest. Jughead's sprawled himself over Archie, nose pressed against the smooth skin of his neck and every time he sucks in a breath he can feel it dust over his skin- making a light trail of goosebumps appear. Jughead's dead to the world, just him and his dreams and Archie wished he could be in the same place right about now. Fast asleep instead of sitting up and thinking towards his future and how unknown it is. Whatever happens next Archie will do all he can to protect Jughead, he'll sacrifice himself if he has to- his life for Juggie's. 

It's when the sun has completely risen, hanging in the blue sky, that Jughead stirs awake. Shuffling against Archie's form, nuzzling deep into Archie's neck and sighing. 

"Did you sleep?" He whispered against his skin, he knows Archie's awake because of the hand rubbing up and down his back. 

"A little bit," Archie mumbled, he didn't want to spoil the morning quiet- the birds chirping outside. "I couldn't get more than two hours." 

"You don't have to sit up and keep look out, you know?" This time when he speaks, Jughead raised his head from Archie's neck- looking him in the eye. Archie noticed how tired he still looks, despite having slept all the night. "As much as I'm flattered you want to keep me safe; I'd rather you sleep." 

"Yeah well," Archie sighs, smiling gently at Jughead- who's hair is sticking up on end all over the place from his night tossing and turning. "When have I ever listened to you?" 

"You should listen to me though," Jughead slumps, dipping his face to press against Archie's chest once more. "I know my stuff." His voice comes out smothered by Archie's t-shirt- but he still managed to catch it. 

"Is that right?" Archie chuckled, curling his fingers up in his boyfriend's dark hair. For once he's not wearing that hat. He loves his hair, it's soft and smells of the shampoo he uses. He'd bury his nose in the strands to inhale the scent but Jughead would probably hit him. 

"Definitely," Jughead smirked, although it's disguised by his hidden face. "I'm hungry, make me breakfast slave." 

"Not until you ask me nicely," Archie huffed, purposely shifting away from Jughead- causing his body to slip out from under him, much to his dismay. "I will do no such thing." 

"Archie," Jughead whines, attempting to crawl back into his boyfriends hold. But again his moves away, this time sitting up, leaving him pressed against the pillows instead. "Surely you don't want me to be hungry." 

"Maybe, maybe not." 

Jughead sits up as well, his shoulder brushing against Archie's, he throws an arm around his waist and brings his lips to Archie's ear. 

"Please make me breakfast babe." His breath tickling the shell of Archie's ear- making him shiver. Jughead knows he had him, he was now putty in his hands. "I'll make it worth your while later..." 

And it's not because of the possible invitation of something far better than pancakes on the horizon that Archie stands up to make breakfast. He tells himself it's the hunger in his gut. And as he leaves the room, he doesn't dare look back at his boyfriend because of the smug look he knows is plastered on his perfect face. 

It's as Archie's rifling through the cupboards in search of something, anything, to eat. That the door busts open, nearly flinging it off its hinges. 

"I've always wanted to do that."

He hears a familiar voice say, before there's a gathering of people in the doorway. 

"Sorry boys," It's Hermione who steps forward first, at the commotion Jughead wanders out the bedroom- one Archie's shirts slung around him and blushes as he notices everyone the know stood there. It's like having an audience as he and Archie live their life. "You'll have to skip breakfast for today- we've got somewhere to be." 

Jughead looks over at Archie, who's already glancing back at him. Both of them with heavily furrowed brows. 

"Oh, and Please," Cheryl speaks this time, tugging the white sunglasses covering her eyes down to the bridge of her nose. She looks around with a disgruntled face- most definitely not used to the dingy trailer but rather the glitz and glamour of her massive house. Cheryl may have a big home but she doesn't know love like Jughead and Archie do. "Put some clothes on, for the sake of us all." 

So, they do and soon they're all packed into the back of a van. Each of them fighting for leg room. Veronica was lucky enough to be sat in the front with her mother, no doubt basking in all that lovely leg room. God does Jughead want to spread his long legs, he's pressed up against Archie's side, not by much choice. Not that he minds; but the other side of him is pushed up against Betty- he's so lucky they all get on well or this would be terribly awkward. Jughead's breaking all the rules by sitting in a van cramped van with his ex and current partner he left her for- a man at that. He must have really hurt Betty, he can't imagine how much it would hurt him if Archie said he was leaving him for some girl. And Archie's her friend, he hopes Betty finds someone who makes her incredibly happy some day. Like how Archie makes him feel. And now she's caught up in all this, along with Cheryl, Josie and Veronica. He feels guilty. And it must show on his face because Archie's slipping his hand into Jughead's- interlocking their fingers. 

"I'm sorry you're all caught up in this," he dares to speak, feeding the hungry silence that had enveloped the van. "You don't deserve it and we don't deserve friends as understanding as you lot." 

"Don't be silly, Juggie," Betty's quick to reassure, laying a hand out on his thigh. A caring and supportive touch. "That's what friends are for; we care about you," She give him her doe-eyed stare. "You don't deserve being chased by people for being... in love." Betty looks down, tucking a strand of her blonde hair that had slipped from her signature ponytail behind her ear. 

"I like the drama," Cheryl added, looking very much uncomfortable in the back of the van. She's most likely used to travelling in style. "And for once it's not following me." 

Archie gives the hold he has on Jughead's hand a squeeze, and when he looks to him he's smiling in reassurance- his eyes having a tint of something left unsaid in them- love.

"I'm tired of being on the bad side," Josie seemed reluctant to talk, she looks down briefly and then back up to see everyone one looking at her with awaiting stares. "It's not all it's cut out to be, I wanted to be good- I wanted to be the heroine in the story." 

"You made the right decision, Josie." Veronica pipes up from in the front of the van, looking through the gap that's guarded by metal. She'd reach out and pat her hand if she could. "And we'll keep you safe from my father." 

"We are all at risk," Hermione adds rather forbiddingly, bringing down the heart to heart mood. "That's why I'm helping to get you lot out of here and returning home to keep my husband sweet while we come up with a more stable plan."

"And he has no idea you're doing this?" Betty frowns, looking at both Josie and Veronica. "Not even a hunch?" 

"Not a clue," Veronica replies. "And hopefully it will stay that way- he's a busy man so he won't be around much to notice my mother and I's absences." 

"We're dancing on a knifes edge here." Archie commented, and it's what everyone is thinking- deep inside- even if they don't want to admit their fear.

*   
⚠️ Mature scene ahead, after a bit⚠️

The van grinds to a halt some time later and every occupant is incredibly relieved to be out into the open air. They've pulled up outside a large house, away from town and tucked away in the woodlands. The front of the brick house disguised by thick trees and greenery. The house is clean and not rotting away like some of the branches on the trees, it's just a place to keep them out of trouble for a bit. If it has heating and beds to sleep on, no one can bring themselves to mind about anything else. It's their save heaven, maybe now Archie will be able to have a sleep free of worry. It's getting dark out, the sun setting beyond the clouds in the sky and everyone is tired from travelling and the stress of the past few days. They can't wait to get inside.

And the moment they are Archie and Jughead set to work on lighting the fire- bringing some warmth to the house. 

"This home has been in my family for generations," Veronica informs them all- everyone is inwardly wondering how they own yet another house. "It's a present to my mother from my grandmother- my father has no idea it exists. We'll be safe here, don't you worry." 

It puts everyone's mind at ease, and it gives both Jughead and Archie the feeling of security after such a long time feeling alone and exposed. After all the gang have been fed, Hermione leaves, returning home to avoid causing suspicion- she'll be back tomorrow. They chat for a bit before tiredness consumes them all and they wander off to find their respective beds. 

Of course Archie and Jughead get the largest one, because, well, they are sharing. Veronica and Cheryl share a room and Betty bunks in with Josie. 

The day's events are still swimming around both the boy's heads, as they lie down in a comfortable- thought consumed- silence. 

"You know something?" Jughead begins, turning his head to face Archie- who smiles at him with the shake of his head. "You never did make me that breakfast." 

"If I make you it tomorrow will you give me what I'm owed now?" 

"And what exactly is it that you are owed for treating me?" 

Archie smirks, rolling over and almost leaning all his weight on Jughead- placing his arms by his head. Leaning down to lay kisses to his neck- Jughead can feel the brush of his nose on his skin. He opens his lips, laying chaste wet open mouth kisses up the length of his neck and pecking his jawline. 

"I get a treat too," Archie mumbles, his warm breath gracing over the patch of silva on Jughead's skin that his tongue has left behind. "You can return the favour." 

"Breakfast and a blow job are two very different things," Jughead adds, tilting his head upwards to allow Archie more room to kiss at his neck. He taps his lips against Jughead's ear before skirting them down to his collarbones- that peek out from his shirt. "Why should I give you your part of the deal now if you haven't even met my side of it?" 

"Because you love me," Archie whispers- his kiss grazing the sweet spot- causing Jughead to let out a breathy groan. "And because of this..." his hands drift down Jughead's clothed body and to the growing bulge in his pants. He presses his hand down and the touch against Jughead's growing erection makes him desperate for more, yet, he's the one who's supposed to be satisfying Archie- who's equally as hard- he can feel the hard-on he's supporting against his own thigh. Archie removes his hand, much to Jughead's dismay, and brings it back up his body- snaking it under his shirt. Feeling Jughead's smooth skin brushing along the palm of his hands- he runs his thumbs over the boy's nipples- making him whine. 

"Take it off." He says to him but Archie shakes his head- looking Jughead in the eye- lip between his teeth. Archie's making him wait- he's teasing him- or they're doing this clothed. Right now he just wants Archie's touch on a certain part of his body- desperately. Archie shifts so that he's sat on top of Jughead- specifically his clothed member- the pressure makes him groan. 

"Juggie," Archie smirks at him, ducking down to whisper in his ear- essentially rocking against Jughead's straining erection. "You're going to have to keep the noise down, the others are right next door," he tells him, nipping at his earlobe. "Not that I don't appreciate the sounds you're making babe." 

"Then touch me," Jughead responds and so does his body when Archie's back to sucking his neck. He runs his fingers through his hair, bunching it in his fist when his body shuffles- causing Archie's hard member to brush his own. This time they both groan. "You're making me desperate." 

"Isn't it supposed to be you treating me?" 

"Yeah well, you like taking control," Jughead mutters, now tugging at the bottom of Archie's shirt- to pull it off. But the boy isn't moving from kissing his neck- he only pulls back slightly to talk and then reattaches himself. "I'll return the favour after." 

"'Glad to hear it." Finally Archie pulls back, and then places his lips on Jughead's- the kiss fiery and barely touching the sides. Moving off Jughead, Archie sits up beside him, he's flushed and his eyes are dark with lust- almost looking black. 

"Shall I take care of that for you?" He's nodding towards the tent in Jughead's pants. And Jughead has no idea when Archie became such a tease.

"Please do." 

So, he does and with incredibly slow hands undoes Jughead jeans- yanking then down his legs and leaves him to kick them all the way down past his ankles and then off the bed. Jughead's achingly hard and he doesn't want to waste time taking off his jeans- he's made him wait long enough. He gives his d ick a yank with his hand before wrapping his mouth around the tip and sucking, swirling his tongue around, making Jughead bit his lip to conceal a moan- hands in Archie's hair. Before he takes his whole length in his mouth and hallows his cheeks as he sucks- making sure to lick the tip each time with. It's not long before he can feel Jughead's thighs tremble under his touch and the fingers he's got in Archie's hair curl up and stiffen. 

"Arch," he breathes, feeling the oncoming point of bliss on the horizon. "I'm close." 

Archie nods as best he can pulls back- pumping Jughead to finish instead and the boy comes over his knuckles with a cry of Archie's name. And everyone in the house is probably very aware that they haven't just gotten off and it'll be a red-faced breakfast tomorrow- that Archie has to make himself, after Jughead sucks him off as well, of course. They'll both definitely sleep well tonight.


End file.
